Programming Boot Camp - Should I Stay or Should I Go?September 25, 2013 6:31 AMSubscribe

I'm currently enrolled in a programming boot camp to facilitate a career change. I feel like I've learned a lot, but the teaching seems to have slowed dramatically.

I find myself doing my own learning after class. I was hoping to learn enough to sit for the certification exam after the class, but I don't feel that we're going to cover enough in class. I just found out there is a certification prep course next week.
Should I:
1. Leave and take the certification course and exam?
2. Stay until the end of the course and take the certification course afterwards?

Is a certification a big enough of a boost to be taken seriously in job searches?

Can you say how long each of the programs are? And if you can get a refund or not? Also, what kind of programming is it and what kind of job are you looking for?

Seems to me that if you are learning something and have someone you can ask questions then it would be worth it just to help keep yourself on a schedule and all that.posted by dawkins_7 at 7:04 AM on September 25, 2013

How long is your course?
How long have you been in it?
How much time is left?
How often do certification courses/exams run?
Have you talked to your instructor about this?

Depending upon your answer I'm of the opinion that it is usually best to finish things out. At least then you could put the completed course on your resume. Half finished things rarely look good.posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 7:14 AM on September 25, 2013

I've hired people out of programming bootcamp type things. The cert may or may not be useful, but "graduate of x" looks a lot better on your resume than "started-but-didn't-finish" (which *will* come out at the interview).

Also, in my experience, I've never encountered a technology class, no matter how basic, that didn't offer *something* I didn't know before.

Tough it out for the sake of your resume, and fill in any gaps on your own time.posted by colin_l at 1:08 PM on September 25, 2013 [4 favorites]

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